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Hovering just under the status of such mega-franchises as Halo, the first two games in the sci-fi role-playing series have sold a combined 7 million copies. But there are signs that Mass Effect is set to warp into another level of fandom.

ME3 ($60, for PS3, Xbox 360 and PCs, rated M for ages 17-up) was voted the most-anticipated game of 2012 by viewers of December's Spike Video Game Awards. Mass Effect is a "Star Wars for the video-game generation," says Geoff Keighley of Spike's GameTrailers TV.

"The Mass Effect series is some of BioWare's best work and recognized for setting new benchmarks for storytelling," says Billy Pidgeon, an analyst with M2 Research. "I think Mass Effect 3 can move another 7 million for the franchise easily."

Even if you missed out on 2007's Mass Effect or the 2010 sequel, this game is designed to let newcomers jump right in. Mass Effect 3's built-in artificial intelligence fills in the blanks of the story as you play along. At the outset, players learn that a galactic war is brewing in the 22nd century, and Earth is in danger. "We are allowing you to get on board quickly," says Ray Muzyka, BioWare co-founder.

In another accommodating ME3 aspect, the sci-fi epic's central character, Commander Shepard, not only shares attributes of Star Trek's Captain Kirk and 24's Jack Bauer, but he'll also act like you.

Many games strive to make the player feel like the hero in an interactive movie. But here, players can customize the look of Shepard, choosing to make the character male or female. And peppered throughout the action and combat scenes are cinematic sequences in which the player chooses from several dialogue responses for Shepard.

The result? ME3 "feels like it was tailored specifically to my choices and actions," says Arthur Gies, reviews editor for Vox Games on TheVerge.com. "Everything feels organic (and) uniquely personal."

Your choices help Shepard evolve into more of a paragon of virtue or a renegade. And your decisions have effects that indeed can be massive. Characters and entire races may die along the way. "The effects you can have on the story are astronomical," says Casey Hudson, the game's executive producer.

In ME3, those who have played the previous games can easily import a saved-game file, essentially a recording of all the decisions they made in the earlier games. As they play the new game, it will unfold slightly differently than others' games will.

"When I visited the developers, I found out that they have to track over 700 different plots at any one time to customize the experience," Keighley says. "It really is magical when you understand everything that goes on behind the scenes to customize the game to each player."

When newcomers play, they create a Shepard and answer a few questions, and the game fills in the story gaps. "Every time there is something new," Hudson says, "it actually introduces that in a seamless way, as though it is a one-off story."

ME3 ends Shepard's story arc, but his exploits might make it to the big screen. Legendary Pictures' adaption with screenwriter Mark Protosevich (Thor) "is still in the works," Muzyka says.

As for Shepard and Mass Effect's future in games, "A lot of people want to see more of Commander Shepard," Hudson says. "We want to see what people think about Mass Effect 3 and what they would like to see us do in the future."

New Mass Effect: Homeworlds comics from Dark Horse are set to hit next month. "I can't imagine there won't be more books and comic books," says ME3 lead writer Mac Walters, who is writing the first Homeworlds comic.

BioWare's attempts to widen the appeal to newcomers "is a difficult task to pull off, as it requires adding enough unique experiences to appeal to a broader consumer base without sacrificing the core experience," says EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich. "But if any developer could pull it off, it would be BioWare."

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